S. Whitehall To Urge Der To Split Road Realignment

May 24, 1985|by VALERIE HILDEBEITEL, The Morning Call

South Whitehall's commissioners will recommend the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation split a realignment of Hillview Road evenly between two property owners whose land will be affected by the construction of I-78.

After repeated meetings with representatives of Trinity Baptist Church and Jeff Epstein, the owner of a commercial building at 3900 Hamilton Blvd., the commissioners agreed to recommend the 60 feet needed for the road realignment be equally shared by both parties.

The original realignment would have taken 40 feet from Epstein's property and 20 feet from the church's land.

Epstein had proposed the split be shifted north with 20 feet being taken from his property and 40 from the church's. That move would have brought the roadway closer to the church parking lot.

Lyell Stengle, a deacon at Trinity Baptist, told the board last night he was authorized to offer a split placing 30 feet of the realignment on each property. Moving the road any closer, he said, might jeopardize school children who exited buses on the parking lot each weekday.

Epstein made a counter proposal offering to build a split-rail fence for the church to ensure the children's safety if the 40-20 split would be accepted. If the split remained 30-30, he added, he would simply thank the church and the board but the offer of the fence would be withdrawn.

Stengle contacted three other deacons by telephone during last night's session but came back to the board with the same proposal.

Because time constrictions placed on the project by PennDOT made further negotiations impossible, the board agreed to support the 30-30 split between the two parties.

The Deerfield Phase II subdivision east of Springhouse Junior High School and north of Crackersport Road was approved on six conditions ranging from meeting recommendations made by the township engineer and delineating property boundaries through grading and landscaping to storm water management.

According to those conditions, the developer must install diversion berms within 30 days on the recreation area to reduce runoff currently flowing onto residential properties.

That runoff must be discharged from the southeast corner of the recreation area into a swale and through an access way to Valley Drive. An inlet endpipe that connects to existing storm sewers on Valley Drive must be built to collect runoff in the swale.

The board also approved final plans for renovations and additions to the municipal and maintenance buildings on Walbert Avenue near Route 309.

Conditions of approval include submission of a parking lot lighting plan, installing anchored bumper blocks or concrete curbing in the parking lot only where it is necessary for storm-water run-off control and defining parking stall and aisle widths on the plans.

In addition, a water main profile must be submitted, a storm water detention area must be placed if the need for it develops, and a soil and erosion control plan must be approved by the Lehigh County Conservation District.

Following a study of traffic flow at the Commerce Plaza development, a second entrance-egress road was put on hold until the developer reaches 50 percent occupancy for its newest building, or until the township deems the road is necessary.

The developer had requested relief from completing the road until 50 percent occupancy was reached, but the board felt traffic flows from the complex could become a problem before that number was reached.

In other business, John Sych, assistant director of community development in the township, resigned. Sych, who was hired Dec. 31, will be relocating to Washington, D.C.